The National Scenic Byway Foundation recently released the findings of a research project exploring trip planning needs and preferences of byway travelers. To gather more insights about the visitor experience, Corridor Solutions surveyed 287 people who reported driving a scenic route or byway within the past two years.
When asked how they discovered the route, 40% of respondents received recommendations from friends or family, followed by “saw a highway or road sign,” (33%).
The findings suggested that one-third of the travelers made spontaneous decisions to take the scenic drive; however, open-ended comments revealed that the drivers were “repeat customers,” already familiar with the route.
When asked about their favorite experiences on the drive, respondents overwhelmingly reported that seeing the scenic views was the top highlight, whether or not they had planned in advance to take the route.
Those who planned to take the route in advance suggested that knowing how long it would take to drive the route was equally important to knowing about things to do along the way.
When asked what would improve their byway driving experience, about 40% of travelers requested “more or better road signs” and “more visitor services,” followed by “mobile app or audio tour,” selected by 36%.
Nearly 70% of respondents said they would recommend the drive to friends and family, and about half posted photos of their trip on social media, affirming the value of word-of-mouth as effective marketing.
For more information on the study and to view additional findings, visit https://nsbfoundation.com/about/newsletter/.